Ransom 1996

This gripping film opens with airline magnate Tom Mullen throwing a lavish party at his upscale New York City apartment. The celebration is meant to showcase his latest commercial, which highlights his journey as a self-made multi-millionaire in the airline industry. However, this festive mood is contrasted with a tense montage of a group of kidnappers plotting to abduct a hostage.

As the story unfolds, Tom and his supportive wife Kate, along with their son Sean (Brawley Nolte), make their way to a science fair in Central Park, where Kate is a judge. In a shocking turn of events, Sean goes missing, captured by criminals including Maris Conner (Lili Taylor), who works as a caterer for the Mullen family, along with her accomplices, the criminal brothers Clark (Liev Schreiber) and Cubby Barnes (Donnie Wahlberg), and tech expert Miles Roberts (Evan Handler). The realization of their son’s disappearance sends Tom and Kate into a frantic search.

The kidnappers seize their opportunity to reach out, sending a chilling video of Sean, blindfolded and restrained. An unidentified voice, distorted for anonymity, demands a $2 million ransom, threatening Sean’s life if the police or media are informed. Ignoring the warning, Tom and Kate decide to involve the FBI, who arrive posing as carpenters to help with renovations at the Mullen penthouse. Led by Agent Lonnie Hawkins, they begin to navigate the stressful situation.

Meanwhile, within the kidnappers’ hideout in Brooklyn, Cubby develops a pang of sympathy for Sean and makes a trip to a nearby store for supplies. Here, he unexpectedly encounters Detective Jimmy Shaker, who is conducting an investigation, leading to a tense series of events that reveal Jimmy’s darker role as the mastermind behind the kidnapping.

Back at Tom’s penthouse, he confides in Hawkins about a possible connection to an ex-union leader who might have orchestrated Sean’s abduction. A prison visit to the former union president proves fruitless, prompting a frustrated Tom to take matters into his own hands when he finally receives instructions for the ransom exchange from Jimmy, who is cleverly masking his true identity.

As the plot thickens, Tom undergoes a series of harrowing moments, such as unintentionally leading the FBI on a wild goose chase during the drop-off, and the situation escalates further as the media catches wind of the ransom demand, leaving Tom with no choice but to publicly announce that he’ll use the ransom money as a reward for information to capture the kidnappers instead of paying them.

His bold move puts him in a precarious battle of wits against Jimmy, who is desperate to maintain control over his crew, which begins to fracture as they contemplate killing Sean now that a bounty has been placed on their heads. Tensions boil over, leading to a gripping confrontation where loyalties are tested, and the stakes rise higher than ever.

After a frantic rescue endeavor and a shocking turn of events that leads to an intense shootout, Tom is ultimately reunited with Sean. However, the experience leaves lasting scars on the family, with Sean struggling to cope with the trauma of his captivity. As time goes on, tensions reach a climax when Tom confronts Jimmy, leading to a gripping conclusion that concludes with justice served but a haunting reminder of the situations they faced.

In the end, while Tom thanks Jimmy for his dubious hand in saving Sean, underlying tensions remain, hinting at the psychological toll the ordeal has taken on the family dynamic as they seek to return to a sense of normalcy in their lives. The film closes with a poignant reflection on the fragility of safety in an unpredictable world.